CBN confirms SWIFT fake news on overseas funds transfers – Nigeria – The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed the existence of fake SWIFT messages in the country. In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, the Apex Bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, stated that the CBN has been inundated with claims from private entities, individuals, law firms and government agencies that foreign currency funds allegedly transferred to them by foreign entities have not yet been credited to their accounts in Nigerian banks.

She added that in some cases, the plaintiffs alleged that the funds were withheld either by the beneficiary’s bank in Nigeria or the CBN and sought the bank’s assistance in making the funds available to them.

Sidi Ali added that applications were often accompanied by fake documents such as SWIFT MT103, SWIFT confirmation copy, among others. She said: “It has become necessary to declare that the SWIFT confirmation copy and SWIFT code MT103 which applicants usually attach as evidence of remittance to beneficiary banks in Nigeria are not reliable.

SWIFT messages are always not identifiable on the SWIFT platform and no funds have been received to credit them to the beneficiary’s account.”

According to her, in a situation where a bank receiving remittances claims that it has not received funds transferred from a foreign entity (sending customer), rather than escalating the matter to the CBN or law enforcement agencies, the standard practice is for the sending customer to contact the sending bank to send a tracker to track where your fund was suspended and remind you of it.

For the avoidance of doubt, according to her, the CBN does not provide correspondent banking services to Nigerian banks for foreign payments nor does it maintain accounts for private business entities.

“Accordingly, the contention of the petitioners that the purported expected proceeds from further credits to the accounts of private business entities are trapped in the CBN is not only false but fraudulent. The general public is therefore advised to be wary of such unauthentic SWIFT messages and documents containing false claims of non-use of large foreign currency funds purportedly transferred to the account of the beneficiary. “CBN will not hesitate to report any bank customer making baseless and unlawful claims to law enforcement authorities for investigation and prosecution,” a CBN spokesperson said.